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EPA To Permanently Relocate Twenty-Four Families Living on The Juncos Landfill Superfund Site Prior To Start Of Cleanup Work

Release Date: 02/26/1999
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(#99033) SAN JUAN, P.R. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it will permanently relocate twenty-four families living on several sections of the Juncos Landfill Superfund Site, due to the unavailability of temporary housing in the area. The Agency, which met with the affected residents earlier this week to explain the relocation process, had previously planned to find temporary housing for them during the cleanup.

The 11-acre Juncos Landfill is a closed municipal landfill where industrial waste, including thermometers containing mercury, had been dumped. Contamination has seeped from the landfill into the nearby creeks and threatened local wildlife. Steps have been taken to prevent any immediate health threat to those living at the site.

"Given the lack of available rentals in the area, the permanent relocation of the affected families is the most practical solution," said EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox. "It will allow the families to get on with their lives and allow us to proceed with this important cleanup."

Other issues that will significantly change the topography of the terrain where the homes are located; and the need to install a sedimentation basin to help control contaminated surface water runoff. The Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board concurs with the EPA decision to permanently relocate the families.

With this modification, EPA expects to accelerate the remediation of the long-standing problem at the Juncos Landfill in the most expeditious and effective manner, to best accommodate the needs of the people who live in the area.

Mercury poisoning is the primary health threat to people at the site. Inhaling the contaminated air and touching or accidentally ingesting the contaminated soil could lead to mercury poisoning and other health hazards. Vegetables grown in the contaminated soil may pick up heavy metals and could pose a potential health threat to individuals who eat them.

For more information contact:
Richard Cahill, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3666 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: [email protected]